Jealous
by abstractwhisk
Summary: JackDaniel Jack does something Daniel regrets. Something because he has to. Not because he's jealous. Or is he? 1shot. messedup!Jack


**A/N: Okay, this story didn't turn out the way even I expected. But I think you all will enjoy it. Un-betaed. Anyone offering? (And no, I still don't own these two, or Stargate at all).**

When Jack awoke, his first impression was that of the side of his face pressed up against something hard and cold. His second impression was of overwhelming nausea. He groaned and opened his eyes to the familiar site before him. He was in the bathroom, curled up against the tub, his face pressing into the side of the toilet bowl. It was not a very comfortable position, nor was it elegant, but it had served its purpose that night.

Not moving any more than he had to, he lifted his wrist to squint at his watch. The little numbers blinked seven eighteen at him. Maybe he was getting better, he reasoned, after all it had been a whole half hour since the last time he'd…well, maybe not. His empty stomach gave a sickening lurch; best not to think about it.

"Jack?" Someone called his name, which surprised him, given the time and the fact he was at home.

"Daniel?" He replied with the other man's name simply for the lack of anything else coming to mind. It was obvious that was who it was.

"Oh. Hey." Daniel appeared in the doorway. He was wearing jeans, and a faded green t-shirt, looking at Jack with a somehow distant, though pitying gaze. It was then that Jack became aware of how weak he must look, lying there in a cold sweat, clothed only in a pair of boxers and an old shirt; he must've looked like hell. With some effort though, he pushed himself away from the toilet and sat upright.

"Better stay back," he joked feebly, even his voice sounding drained, "Might be contagious." Daniel shook his head.

"No, I'm pretty sure you got it from Magic Joe's, just like the other twenty-five people in here," he said coolly, gesturing to the newspaper in his hand.

"But they've got the best egg rolls…" Jack insisted on making a joke, even though the look on Daniel's face and the muted anger in his eyes warned him otherwise.

"And," Daniel said, "Frasier said you should try to take one of these, every three hours, if you can keep them down." He set an orange pill bottle down on the countertop. He didn't say that the team picked him to come see Jack. He didn't say that he was the one that was angry with him. He didn't say that he didn't want to be there and wished Jack would go to hell, but Jack could see it in his eyes. He didn't have to say it.

"Thanks," said Jack, "I-" but his stomach got the better of him, and a moment later, he was leaning over the toilet once again, vomiting. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Daniel looking away uncomfortably, and twinged inwardly at how awkward the whole ordeal was. Finally he sat back, panting for breath, and wiping a hand across his sweaty brow.

"I should go," Daniel said quietly, his voice emotionless, "Hope you feel better soon, Jack." He turned to leave, but Jack called him back.

"Wait," he began, "You c-could hang out for a while, I'm actually feeling a bit better." It was a complete and total lie, but Jack couldn't stand the distance in Daniel's voice, the way he regarded Jack with disjointed feeling. He just wanted to make things right.

"No, I couldn't-" Daniel tried to refuse. He said it firmly, but Jack looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Please?" he asked, and finally Daniel gave in. He nodded unsmilingly.

"Help yourself to whatever's in the fridge. I'll just…clean myself up," Jack went on, and as soon as Daniel was gone, he pulled himself shakily to his feet. Splashing a bit of cool water on his face, he brushed his teeth, and ran a hand through his mess of hair. When he had finished, he swallowed two of the pills Daniel had brought dry, and shuddered. He stepped out into his bedroom, where he changed into a slightly less ratty looking t-shirt, and slid on a pair of plaid pajama pants.

When he walked into his living room, he was surprised to see Daniel sitting on the couch, sipping a beer. His astonishment must have shown on his face, because Daniel gave him a look, and said:

"It was all you had in the fridge." Jack hadn't realized he needed groceries so badly.

"Right,' he mumbled after a moment, "Sorry." He took a seat in the chair adjacent to him, and the room lapsed into a tension filled silence. Jack stared at Daniel; Daniel stared at the floor, occasionally taking long drafts from the bottle in his hand. The clock ticked loudly. No one spoke. Jack was about to offer Daniel another beer, seeing as he had nearly finished his first, when the other man suddenly looked up, angrily.

"For god's sake Jack, just say whatever the hell it is you wanted to say, so I can get out of here already," he exploded. Jack regarded him with what he hoped was a cool surprise, hiding how much the archaeologist's harsh words dug into his skin.

"I didn't have anything to say," he remarked, "But I _was _going to ask if you wanted another beer." Daniel glared at him, before thrusting the empty bottle in his direction.

"Fine," he said, and Jack took it, fetching him another. Once he returned and Daniel had the second beer in his hand, he spoke.

"What's with all this crap, Daniel? What's really going on here?" he asked, and Daniel set the unopened beer down hard on the table.

"Forty thousand," he said, his voice shaking with a barely controlled fury.

"What?" Jack asked, with genuine confusion, and Daniel shot him a hard look.

"That's how many people died back on p3x-4823." Shit, thought Jack, Altonia. He should have known Daniel would be shaken up after that disaster.

"Oh," he said, looking at the floor awkwardly, "Look, what hap-"

"What happened was your fault, Jack," Daniel interrupted him, "You took the shot, you made the call. You killed all those people."

"You don't know- Misuaki was a traitor, Daniel. She sold us out to the snake-heads. She was leading them right for our camp."

"No!" Daniel blurted, standing up, "She didn't know they'd follow her…"

"I had to stop her. Our position was nearly compromised. There was no way around it." Jack explained, also standing.

"She was our ally. You didn't have to shoot-" Daniel argued.

"She was a traitor," Jack yelled over him, "She was selling De'dian information for a cut of the profits."

"You don't know that," he barked, "How could you know that…"

"She was using you, Daniel," Jack said bitterly, "Carter intercepted a transmission between Misuaki and De'dian. She was using you to get on the inside…I'm sorry." Daniel's resolve didn't waiver.

"Someone would have told me. You're lying," he accused, his voice easing back into a controlled tone, "They all died when De'dian attacked, because of you. You're just covering up for yourself." Jack moved forward, and looked the other man in the eye.

"I'm not lying to you, Danny. De'dian attacked when Misuaki didn't report back to him, but if I hadn't- if I hadn't shot her, thousands more would have died. I won't deny the blame of those deaths that happened, but I stopped even more. She didn't love you, and I'll say it again, Daniel; I'm sorry." Daniel broke Jack's steady gaze, and he sighed.

He had been trying so hard to forget that mission, since it had gone so terribly wrong, but he should have known. No one had told Daniel that it was Jack that had shot Misuaki. No one had wanted to, after he and the woman had become…close. He must have figured it out though.

"She loved me," Daniel whispered, dropping back onto the couch, the beer finally appearing to be getting to him. "She said so. She loved me."

"She lied," Jack said softly, sitting down next to him.

"She said she loved me!" Daniel yelled this time, and he doubled over in a ball of tears and pain. Jack put an arm around him, pulling him into a comforting embrace.

"I know," he whispered, and wished he could make the pain end. Slowly, gradually the crying stopped, and Daniel sat up.

"You alright now?" Jack asked, and Daniel took off his glasses to rub at his eyes.

"No," he said, "I'm sorry I-"

"It's okay. We should have told you," Jack shrugged, "But next time you decide to come over and yell at me, you think you could wait until I don't have food poisoning?"

"I didn't want to come in the first place," Daniel pointed out, "Sorry though. Feeling any better?"

"Yeah, with Doc Fraiser's pills? I'm sure I'll be fine. Positive. You gonna drink that beer?" He gestured to the bottle still sitting out on the table, and Daniel shook his head. Jack stood, and carried the beer to the kitchen, knowing that if it was left out he would end up drinking it himself, and that couldn't turn out good. He congratulated himself mentally as he did so, for sorting everything out with Daniel. He knew things would be better between them again. Still he couldn't ignore the twinge in his heart at the thought of them just being friends again. It wasn't his fault though, he just wanted _more._

He entered once again into the living room, and came up behind Daniel, still sitting on the couch. He put his arms around the other man's neck, leaning over to whisper in his ear.

"Thanks for coming, Danny," he said, "I love you." He alternated between gently nipping at, and kissing Daniel's ear and neck, and felt him stiffen. 

"We already tried this once, Jack," he reminded, resisting the touch slightly, "It didn't end well." Jack pouted.

"Only because you left me for Misuaki," he said, and then mentally slapped himself. He could almost see the gears turning in Daniel's mind- see him realizing the one thing he hadn't yet accused Jack of- see the words forming- _You were jealous._

"We went well together," he purred preemptively, "We should try again. I love you." He kissed Daniel again, and stroked his hair.

"I don't know if I'm ready," Daniel said, not really pulling away, "I don't know if I'm ready for love again; not yet." _You were jealous, _his eyes accused. Jack rested his head on top of Daniel's.

"I can wait, I guess," he said. His own mind also accused, _You were jealous_. It was all such a blur. Carter, the transmission, the traitor- it all sounded like something out of a bad action film. He took the shot though. He made the call. Maybe he had been jealous.


End file.
